


A Baby?

by deathblade8



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-10-07 05:33:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10353315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathblade8/pseuds/deathblade8
Summary: “You’re having a baby?”“I am”“An actual human baby?”“One would hope so, yes”





	1. Chapter 1

“Same time tonight?” Connor asked on his way out the door.

Oliver was about to say yes, before remembering a very crucial detail that had slipped his mind in a haze of last night, and this morning’s, activities.

“Can’t do tonight” Oliver sighed, looking at the floor to avoid Connor’s questioning gaze, expecting Oliver to follow it up with a reason. When none came he schooled his face into an expression of nonchalance.

 “Okay. How about tomorrow, then?” Connor offered.

“Yeah, no. I have a late night client call with our team in London”

“This weekend?”

“Farmer’s market with my dad”

“Really? You and your dad will be at the farmer’s market for the whole weekend?” Connor said slowly, allowing Oliver to discover the absurdity of his excuse on his own.

“Well, my father is a very complicated man. Who knows what goes through his mind” Oliver almost shrieked as he almost ran from his front door to his kitchen.

Of course, it was bound to happen. It’s not like he owned Oliver. Nope. They had hooked up twice over the past two weeks and it had been fun. More than fun, actually. So much fun that he wouldn’t mind repeating their rendezvous again. Preferably soon. So he did his best to hide his disappointment from the other man whose eyes were focused intently on the ground.

“You could have just told the truth, you know” Connor said, following Oliver to the kitchen, while still maintaining some distance from him.

Oliver looked back at him, a frantic expression on his face.

“If you don’t want to continue this anymore” Connor said gesturing between the two of them “You could have just said so”

“It’s not that” Oliver said, still not looking Connor in the eye.

“Then what is it? Are you seeing someone else? Or even better, are you getting married? Are you already married? ” Connor said, trying to lighten this situation.

If it were any other guy, Connor wouldn’t have bothered. If anyone else had turned Connor down, he would have put on his best smirk, made a snarky comment and stormed off the door. But something about the panic in Oliver’s eyes had stirred something in Connor, which was strange because they were not dating. Connor didn’t do boyfriends. Everyone and their neighbor knew that.

Oliver’s lips curved up slightly, though he tried his best to hide it.

“No. I’m not getting married”

“Are you a terrorist? Or a cybercriminal? Are you going to pull a Snowden on this country? Should I be going to the police?”

“Connor, drop it”

“Holy shit! You are one, aren’t you? I can’t believe I just slept with an international criminal. Wait, did you sleep with me so that I could defend you in court? Because as hot as the whole thing is, I really can’t help you. I’m just a law stu-”

“I’M HAVING A FREAKIN’ BABY, CONNOR!” Oliver yelled at him, having had enough of his rant.

That shut Connor up. There they stood, in Oliver’s kitchen, neither knowing what to say yet. Until more than a few moments had passed and Oliver took it upon him to cross the distance separating them and break the tension.

“Don’t worry though. You are not the father” he said, playfully nudging Connor.

“You’re having a baby?”

“I am”

“An actual human baby?”

“One would hope so, yes”

“Like a baby, baby. Like a person, but only tiny?”

“Yes, Connor. I’m having a tiny person. Also called a baby. An infant, if you will. It will most probably be human I guess. Not that I would love it any different if it weren’t”

“Right”

“Umm…not that I don’t like you here or anything, but don’t you have class?”

“Not until three. So we have plenty of time to talk about this”

“Alright” Oliver sighed, taking a seat by the island. Connor followed suit, occupying the spot opposite him.

“A couple of months ago, I was in a relationship with a guy called Marcus. He was in a couple of my classes at college and we sort of started seeing each other in Final year. We had been living together since graduation. Last year, Marcus proposed and I said yes. I was stupid in love and impulsive. Like I wanted the whole deal with him. House in the suburbs, a million kids running around the yard. Just the whole nine yards. And maybe he was a little stupid for me too. He just let me have my fantasy life. So we bought a giant ass house neither of us could afford and then approached adoption agencies and looked for surrogates. All of this while planning the wedding of the century” Oliver laughs to himself, although his eyes give away his pain.

Connor silently, willing him to continue.

“In a few weeks we had found a surrogate. It took us a couple of tries but she finally got pregnant last October. And that is when things started going downhill. Marcus, it turns out wasn’t really ready to settle down so soon. And I didn’t see it, or refused to see it. In retrospect I was too wrapped up in my world to ask him what he wanted out of this relationship. That’s all on me. I kept avoiding our problems until one day I couldn’t. Marcus missed out on a promotion at work and what started off as a squabble over who would cook dinner grew into a full blown fight, bringing all our problems to the surface. He told me he wasn’t ready to be a father yet. He wanted to give up the baby for adoption. And I couldn’t do that. So I let him go. That was last December.”

“How is the mother?”

“Amanda is in her third trimester. We have a visit with the OB/GYN today.”

“So is your ex still-”

“In the picture?” Oliver finishes the sentence for him. Connor nods.

“No. We both decided that it would be better if I raised the child alone. He moved to France, last I heard. We haven’t kept in touch.”

“So what does that mean for us?” Connor eventually asks.

“Is there an ‘us’?”

“I like you, Oliver.”

“And I like you too. But let’s be real. I just got out of a long relationship and I’m about to be a father in a few months’ time. And you are an overworked law student who has enough on his plate as it is. Anything serious is a recipe for disaster.”

Connor nodded. They could not do casual anymore and neither of them was in a place to make a commitment. Not at the moment.

“Friends” Connor said.

“Come again?”

“Friends” Connor repeated firmly “I do like you Oliver, and you are right. The timing is all wrong. But we can still be in each other’s lives, right?”

“You really want that?”

“Yeah” Connor said, surprised by how much he meant it. He was not ready to let Oliver go yet. And maybe Oliver wasn’t ready either, judging by the light in his eyes.

“Okay”

“Okay”

“Connor, bud?”

“What’s up, dear Friend Oliver?”

“Get your ass to class”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang finds out about Oliver, and Wes and Laurel creep Connor out.

Connor picks up the phone on the first ring. God knows he had been waiting for Oliver to call, not that he had been checking his phone every five minutes or anything.  
  
"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me "he says with a bite in his voice.  
  
"I'm ... I'm so sorry. I g-got your texts but the whole thing with the sonogram and Amanda and my parents and... Just stuff got in the way" he says, his tone heavy with exhaustion.  
  
Connor frowned, walking from the clinic to somewhere more private. He could tell that something was wrong. Oliver had been alternating between bouncing off walls with excitement and crying in a fetal position on the floor over the past few weeks. Today was supposed to be the grand reveal. Oliver was taking Amanda to the OB for the sonogram. They were going to know the gender of the baby.   
  
"Ollie?"  
  
Connor's voice cuts off Oliver mid ramble. The concern in it grounds him, making him less scared of the whole thing.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What did the doctor say? How is Amanda?"   
  
"She's just fine. The baby, though..." Oliver trails off with a sigh.  
  
"The baby what?" Connor asks. He doesn't realize how fast his heart was beating right now. What had happened at the doctor's appointment? What had they found out?  
  
"There isn't gonna be one..." Oliver sighs and realizing what he has just said, rushes to correct himself "I mean... I'm not having one baby. There's two of them in there"  
  
"T-two?" Connor stammers out.

 He totally doesn't think that he and Oliver could pick one each to spoil. Nope. Why would he think that? They're not his babies. He is not going to be their dad. Ollie is. Because he doesn't do commit or do boyfriends and anything that resembles either of the above. So, to sum up, it's all good. Why does he feel like shit, though?  
  
Oliver lets out a laugh. It's giddy and terrified all at the same time.   
  
"Yeah, Connor. Two. A girl and a boy"   
  
"A baby girl and a baby boy" Connor tastes the words on his mouth as he says them. He hopes Oliver doesn't hear his heart beating through the phone. The guy had enough to dealing with even without an emotionally confused playboy struggling to get a handle on his feelings.  
  
"I'm going to be a daddy, Connor!" Oliver says through the tears in his eyes.   
  
"Yeah, Ollie. You're going to be a dad" Connor says, wiping his eyes with the meat of his palm.

 

* * *

 

 

“What is that on your face?” Michaela asks him as he steps back into the library.

“What are you talking about?” Connor asks dismissively as he opens one of their torts reference books.

“Is that..? Are you? No you can’t be!” Michaela studies him from across the table.

“Oh Dear Lord, he totally is” Asher observes from the end of the table.

“What’s up” Laurel and Wes join them, both of them have their clothes ruffled and hair mussed. The books that they had gone to get the literature section were missing. The rest of the gang had been too used to them to comment on it.

“Check out that thing on Walsh’s face” Asher nudges Wes, blatantly pointing at Connor, who was checking his reflection in his phone at this point.

“Holy Shit” Laurel and Wes groan in unison.

“Alright. That’s it! Laurel and Wes, your couple’s sync is creepy. Cut it out. And either tell me what’s wrong or I can find a different table to study” Connor says, half getting up from his seat.

“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen” Michaela says, reaching out an arm to force him into his seat.

“Yeah, bro. Nobody’s making fun of you” Asher says and is met with incredulous stares from the rest of their table.

“Okay, so we are” Asher admits “But it’s a rare sight, let me tell you.  I never thought I would live to see the day when Connor Walsh would have an honest to God smile on his face.”

“And it’s not even like a normal smile” Wes says, looking around their group for support.

“It’s like a happy smile on a normal person” Laurel says unhelpfully.

“What the hell does that mean?” Connor frowns at her. He is a normal person. More normal than her in any case.

“I mean if anyone else, anyone normal smiled like that I would say that they were in love. But all of us know better than that to assume the same for you”

“That’s right” Michaela added “There’s no way you’re thinking of that special someone, are you?”

“Don’t we have finals in like a week? Why are we discussing my love life?”

Michaela smiled like a five year old on Christmas day and it made Connor realize what he had just said.

“So there is a guy” she said triumphantly.

“No, there isn’t” Connor insists “Well there is a guy but it’s not like that. We’re not dating or anything. We hooked up a couple of times but we are friends now”

“Connor Walsh and ‘friends’ don’t fit in the same sentence or the same galaxy” Wes said without looking up from his notes.

“Whatever, waitlist. Are you guys done? Because we need to get started if we want to pass this subject” Connor says in a not-so-subtle attempt at changing the topic.

“Oh, please. We can crack Torts in our sleep. What we really need is details on this guy who has turned the Casanova into a thirteen year old teenage girl with a hot crush” Laurel says, leaning forward on her elbows.

“Yeah, homo. Tell us about your man.” Asher says. Connor would have punched him except that Michaela beat him to it.

“For the last time, Oliver is not my man” Connor said exasperatedly “We are friends who hang out together. I mean, I do like him a lot and I’m pretty sure he like me too but things are…” he lets out a sigh, “things are a little complicated right now. He is going to be a single dad and that stuff is hard enough to deal with. I don’t want to start anything with him unless I am sure about my feelings for him. I mean, if the circumstances were different, I’d ask him out and you know, go on dates with him. But there’s a kid involved now” he paused, remembering “two kids actually. And I don’t know if I am ready for that yet. He is doing it all alone so I just want to be there for him. Because he is the first person I have liked hanging out with in god knows how long.”

“Walsh, you’ve got it bad son” Asher said seriously.

Michaela nodded “For once I agree. You are in love with this guy”

“I am not!” Connor says defensively.

“Yes you are” Wes and Laurel said together.

“Damnit, what did I say about the creepy couples’ sync thing?”   

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanging out after a hard day's work. As Friends.

“I’m glad to know my four years at MIT didn’t go to waste” Oliver said proudly, surveying the cribs he had assembled.

He being the operative word, because although it was intended to be a team effort, at Connor’s insistence, it had turned into Connor and Oliver having an epic showdown over what the instructions in the manual actually meant.

“But I’m seriously questioning my education at Middleton now. How am I expected to be a lawyer if I could not understand the instructions on this piece of shit?” Connor said as he threw the ridiculous manual against the wall.

“Come on, don’t be hard on yourself” Oliver nudged him playfully, “I had the same trouble when I brought the furniture for this place. But I kept at it and it turned out to be a good distraction from the breakup. I must admit though, I had to call in sick for the next two days to finish the job.”  

Connor smiled “So, some eat their feelings and some go to a bar and get blind drunk. But you, Hampton, built IKEA furniture to get over a broken heart” he teases Oliver.

“Yup. Though I painted the walls here too. Don’t forget that” Oliver points out.

“Not on my life” Connor swears.

It was nice, Connor thought as he followed Oliver out of the soon-to-be baby room. They had gone out shopping for the baby stuff. Picking out toys and tiny furniture turned out to be the most fun Connor had had in a long time. Then they headed over to Connor’s favorite restaurant for a late lunch where the two of them talked about everything ranging from school to internship with Annalise, to Oliver’s job and how the latter was gearing up for a sabbatical for the few months after the babies came. He did not remember the last time someone cared about him enough to know about his life and interests. It felt normal, almost second nature to spend time with Oliver.

Connor saw Oliver slumped on the couch out of exhaustion and decided to make coffee for the two of them. He had a paper to write and had made Oliver promise to sit with him while he did it. Oliver relented, having realized during the short time they had been friends that for all the suave and self-assured front Connor put before the world, he was actually terrified of being alone.

“Take your rest, Ollie. You and I are pulling an all-nighter for the Property Law nightmare”

“Remind me why I am supposed to do that, again” Oliver called from the sofa, his voice muffled from the cushions that his face was mushed in.

“Because I am an awesome friend who sacrificed his study time to generously help you shop for your babies?”

“Sacrificed? From what I remember you could not leave class fast enough once I said the words ‘toy shopping’. You were more excited than the kids there”

“That was a singing dinosaur and you promised not to bring it up!” Connor said accusingly from the kitchen island, pouring sugar into the two coffees.

 

Later that night, while Oliver pored over yet another baby book at the sofa, Connor sat on the floor, working on his laptop, every once in a while asking Oliver to check a fact from the Law Book that was opened before him.

“What year was Rhode Island v. Massachusetts?” Connor asks absently.

Oliver had read the damn chapter so many times that he didn’t even bother referring to the book this time.

“1838” he said as he highlighted a passage about vaccination patterns for babies.

“That doesn’t sound right, though” Connor looks up uncertainly.

“The man doth protest too much” Oliver says “There you go” he shoves the book in Connor’s face.

“Chill, dude. I was only asking. I already wrote 1838, see?” He said, raising his laptop to Oliver’s level.

“Sorry, this section on diseases is freaking me out a little” Oliver admits sheepishly.

“Your babies are going to hale and hearty and live for a thousand years. I thought we settled that” Connor says, patting Oliver’s leg “Especially with you as their dad, who is basically a genius”

Oliver scoffed but Connor pushed on “How many people master the art of IKEA assembly in a few days? Ollie you know more about Rhode Island v. Massachusetts than I do. Trust me, you are going to nail this Parenting gig”

“If you say so” Oliver shrugs.

Connor snorts arrogantly “I know so” sighing, he added “You will be a better dad than mine ever was, anyway”

Oliver frowned “What is that supposed to mean?”

Connor stayed silent. There was something about Oliver that made him put down his guard and open up to the other man. And he was about to reveal yet another piece to him, and it made him nervous.

“We don’t have to talk about him…” Oliver suggested gently.

“It’s alright” Connor said finally “I want to talk about him. With you. Which is weird because I generally don’t talk about my personal crap with people I hooked up with just months ago”

“People who I hooked up with never asked me to help them study either, but I’m breaking the pattern with you” Oliver pointed out.

“That’s true” Connor conceded “My father...was an ass. He was a drunk and a cheater and essentially the reason I had commitment issues. My coming out as gay and his threatening to pack me off to boarding school only facilitated mom kicking him out of our house. That was ten years ago. Haven’t seen him since”

“My parents were supportive when I came out. It was scary for them at first. Being a nerd and Asian made you fodder for bullies anyway. Adding gay to the list was just icing on the cake. They were thrilled when I moved out for college, though. It meant I could finally live my life on my terms.” Oliver said.

“They are not too keen on the baby thing though. My mom thinks it’s going to make it harder for me to find a man” Oliver chuckled.

“You are a catch, Oliver. Any man would be lucky to have you. I’ll call your mom right now and tell her that. Give me your phone” Connor says seriously, holding out his hand for Oliver.

“You want to call my mom at three in the morning and tell her that her son is a catch?” Oliver asks dryly.

Connor nods “Catch. Man Candy, whatever. Take your pick.”

“While we are at it let’s call up your dad and ask him to fuck off” Oliver says sarcastically.

“Sounds like a plan”

“Clearly you have been awake for too long. You need to rest and so do I”

“Cool. You take the bed and I’ll crash on one of the cribs you built”

“How about I take the bed, you take the couch and we leave the cribs alone?” Oliver says, heading to the closet for fetching extra blankets and pillows.

“You are no fun” Connor says, packing away his stuff.

“Too bad” Oliver says, throwing the pillows, blankets and an old pair of sweatpants on the couch.

“Good night, Ollie”

“Good night, Connor”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I even bother continuing this?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor sleeps. Oliver watches.

Watching Connor sleep was borderline creepy. Actually, watching _anyone_ sleep was creepy and something that was straight of the Vampire novels his younger sister loved to read. But Oliver couldn’t help himself, couldn’t tear his eyes off this gorgeous, funny, just plain wonderful man who was currently drooling on his sofa cushions. And Oliver, deep in his gut knew that he was done for. Every moment between the two of them was filled with laughter and smiles and a sense of calm, like around Connor he could actually be himself. Connor’s presence was so bright, his insecurities faded in comparison.

He stuttering almost went non-existent around Connor unless he made a lewd joke, which the law student did on a daily basis, if only to get a reaction out of Oliver. And the way Connor smiled seeing him blush, God, Oliver was ready to be a stuttering, fumbling fool for the rest of his life if it meant that he could have the other man for keeps.

And that scared him to his wit’s end. His breakup with Marcus was a train wreck, happening out of nowhere and blowing everything Oliver thought he knew about his life to smithereens. The wounds had faded, but the memories of the pain still remained. He remembered himself stalking Marcus’s profile for hours on end. Remembered how happy Marcus looked in his profile pictures as he lived a life without Oliver in it. Remembered himself wondering why he hadn’t seen Marcus this happy in all their years as a couple. Remembered the anger, at himself, for chasing Marcus away with his wild dreams and glorious fantasies. Remembered the anger, at Marcus, for letting Oliver believe that they were on the same page when all along it had been a lie.

Back then, Oliver thought his world had ended. And it had made him wish that he had too.

The process of getting over Marcus was not like it happened in the movies. There was no gradual journey to find his inner self. There was barely any healing when reality crashed over him like a tide and swept him away from his dark, depressed self.

_It happened on a Sunday. He had stumbled into the doctor’s clinic, hungover from drinking himself into oblivion the other night. Amanda was sitting with her mother, concerned at Oliver’s appearance. Rumpled clothes, unkempt hair, bloodshot eyes. He hadn’t shaved in a week and had avoided the shower longer._

_“Amanda Delaney?” The middle age nurse announced, looking up from the clipboard “The doctor will see you now”_

_The doctor’s office was spacious and sterile, adorned with a multitude of gold and crystal trophies along its pristine white walls. The wall behind the mahogany desk proudly displayed a collage of happy families, complete with cute, chubby babies with shiny eyes and toothless smiles. Oliver in his week old clothes, stood out like an eye sore._

_“See the tiny little bean, right there?” Dr. Park pointed to the screen. Oliver nodded, transfixed at the tiny pulsating image “That’s your child, Mr. Hampton”_

_Now, Oliver knew he was about to be a father. It had been a month since he got the call from Dr. Andrews saying that the procedure had been successful. It was also the very same day that Marcus had broken down and admitted that he wanted out. So the weeks following that were filled with contacting their real estate agent and putting their new house up for sale, splitting the amount equally. Calling the wedding planner. Explaining their breakup to their families. Explaining them, over and over, how the two of them could no longer be together. Sitting their friends down one afternoon and announcing the news to them. But the news of his impending fatherhood was sitting in the back of his brain like a fact, nothing else. A responsibility, a role he would be stepping into eventually. It didn’t inspire emotions in him, heartbreak rendering his reactions numb, causing him to go through the motions of the day with dispassion._

_It was today he saw what exactly he had signed up for. It wasn’t a job, it wasn’t something one could half-ass his way through. He was going to be a parent to a little kid who would need him, depend on him, look up to him. Regardless of what changes life had in store for him, fatherhood was going to be a constant in his life, and that kid was going to be his top priority no matter what._

_He was disgusted with himself; brooding around, getting wasted at bars, cyber-stalking an ex who had clearly moved on. His child hadn’t even arrived into the world and he had already started neglecting him._

_His mind reeled with all the work that he needed to get started on as he raced up the stairs to the third floor. His apartment was a mess of beer bottles and unpacked boxes, a mattress in the corner of the living room and the refrigerator next to it being the only piece of furniture he had with him. He had yet to settle into the place. No time like the present, he thought as he grabbed a large garbage bag and shoved the empty cans, bottles and takeout containers into it. He needed to get the place clean, get himself clean and hit the hardware store for the biggest shopping spree of his life._

_After a long shower, he picked up the razor and shaved off the beard that he had let grow over the weeks. It was great to see his real face after so long. He didn’t look half bad, he observed._

_“You, sir are a catch” Oliver informed his reflection._

_He decided to first purchase the things he would need in his apartment immediately. He could come around for the baby shopping when he actually knew what babies needed. Since literally everything at their old place reminded Oliver of Marcus, he had refused to keep anything and sold it off without haggling for the price._

_The first two weekends went into painting the walls. Furniture was assembled, arranged and rearranged. Bedsheets, cushions, blankets and curtains followed next. His house looked fitter and fitter for human habitation as time passed. He started hitting the gym, started eating clean, which ultimately meant goodbye to booze._

_His friends tried to set him up. He loved them for caring, and went on a couple of dates to humor them. He wasn’t looking for anything serious though, and he found out, that made all the difference. Dinner would progress to a nightcap at home, followed by them falling into bed, or the couch, followed by the two of them parting ways sometime later._

_He had neither the time nor the inclination for relationships or commitment. The only commitment he was willing in his life was to a little tiny human arriving in a couple of months._

_And nothing and no one was going to change that, until Connor Walsh walked into his life, throwing everything he had built over the months into disarray._

_It started as a hookup. He had no plans for the night and had allowed his coworkers to convince him to accompany them to the bar below their office one night. They were a boisterous lot, only getting louder and more boastful by the second. Oliver really needed a proper drink if he was going to endure their stories any longer._

_He headed towards the bar and ordered a drink. He just needed a bit of space from his friends and decided not to head back to their table immediately. Just then a man sidled next to him. Oliver chanced a sideways glance at him and was knocked out at the sight. He was beautiful, there was no word for it. Oliver had checked out guys before and they were either sexy or handsome or hot. But this man was all of the above and more. He tried to look the other way, so not to come off as a creep, when the other guy spoke up._

_“Hey, that’s not fair” the guy groaned._

_Olive froze, not sure if he was the one being addressed. Looking back, he saw Mr. Beautiful staring right at him._

_“Uh…I’m sorry. Were you talking to me?” he asked uncertainly._

_“You’re damn right I was, buddy. Now why would you do that?”_

_Oliver frowned. His staring hadn’t been that obvious, had it?_

_“Why would I do what?” he asked, pretending ignorance._

_“Why’d you turn that face away? I was looking at it” the guy replied, smiling at the blush making its way up Oliver’s cheeks._

_Oliver couldn’t do anything other than stare blankly at him._

_“There it is. I’m Connor by the way” he said moving slightly into Oliver’s personal space, and Oliver caught a whiff of the man’s spicy cologne._

_“I’m Ol-Oliver” he eventually said, Connor’s presence comforting and unsettling him at once._

_“Your co-workers seem to want a show, Oliver. So just say the word and we can start making out” Connor suggested with a smirk._

_“Ignore them” Oliver said “I...I just don’t talk to guys at bars that often” he admitted shyly._

_“Well then, let’s head over to your place so we can ‘talk’ some more” Connor said with a smirk that made Olive increasingly nervous._

_Oliver looked back at his friends, who were unashamedly staring at the pair of them, and then brought his eyes to meet Connor’s._

_It wasn’t a hard choice to make._

_He swooped in and kissed Connor right in front of everyone in the bar._

_“Let’s get out of here” he whispered against the other man’s lips. Connor nodded, dragging Oliver out of the bar with him._

_Oliver was pretty sure he wasn’t going to see the other man again, but Oliver was going to savor this night._

 

* * *

 

 

Four months later, Connor had transitioned from a one-night stand to a regular booty call to now a friend who had taken semi-permanent residence at his couch.

Oliver was contemplating whether to wake him up or let him sleep in when he heard a groan from the couch. First rose the dark, untamed mess of hair. An arm reached out on the coffee table to check the time on the phone.

Then everything happened in a whirlwind.

“Shit, Ollie. Why didn’t you wake me up? I have to go study at the library. Please, God don’t let Michaela get there before I do” Connor said as he ran straight for the shower.

Oliver didn’t bat an eye at the proceedings. Maybe they do spend a lot of time together. Shrugging, he went to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

Connor came running out of the shower minutes later, dressed in what suspiciously looked like Oliver’s sweater. Going by the drop shaped patterns on the same, Oliver could guess that Connor hadn’t bothered to dry before dressing up. Oliver tried his hardest not to imagine Connor wet underneath _his_ clothes.

“No time for breakfast, Ollie” Connor said as he put on his shoes.

“There’s always time for breakfast” Oliver said holding out a rolled up pancake wrapped in a napkin.

“You’re a mom already” Connor teased fondly.

“You’re good to practice on” Oliver retorted “Now off to school and you better study hard”

“I’ll see you in the evening” Connor said, distractedly kissing Oliver on the cheek “Love You”

“Love you too” Oliver said absently to the retreating body.

 

* * *

 

 

Moments later, on the opposite sides of apartment 303, they both realized what they had just said.

“Shit” Oliver said, eyes glued to the door.

“Shit” Connor said, eyes glued to the door.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments. Let them rolling in and I'll be sure to update regularly.  
> What do you want to happen next?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Oliver spirals and Connor is confused, and all is right in the end.

Connor did not hesitate before turning around on the balls of his feet. Wrenching open the door, he entered back into the apartment he had vacated just moments ago.

"What the fuck did you just say?" he demanded of a flabbergasted Oliver, who was rooted to the same spot on the floor where Connor had left him.

Oliver hesitated before replying "Whatever the fuck I said, you were the one who said it first"

"Didn't mean you didn't mean what you just said" Connor spat back accusingly, inching closer towards Oliver.

"Didn't mean you didn't mean what you just said either" Oliver pointed out to the law student.

Connor frowned at the other man in confusion "What are we talking about, again?"

Oliver tried to gather his thoughts before responding "Well, you said something before you left and I responded in affirmation. Post my response, you thought it imperative to attack me for saying something which you were the first to say anyway. Don't ask me to explain it again because it's already making my head hurt just thinking about it" he begged the other man.

Connor nodded, his own head was housing a storm at the moment.

“Do you want to sit down?” Oliver offered, sensing that this was going to be a long and awkward conversation between the two of them.

“Sure” Connor said taking a seat beside Oliver on the couch. He really needed something to hold on to right now, but the only cushion was on Oliver’s side of the sofa.

It was as if Oliver was attuned to his discomfort, because at that very moment, Oliver withdrew the said cushion from behind him and handed it over to Connor, who embraced it almost instantly.

The silence between them was heavy, both men trying to figure out what to say to the other, where to even start.

Finally, it was Connor who broke the quiet.

“I’ve never said what I just said to anyone before” he said, mostly to himself.

“Not even to your family?” Oliver asked dubiously.

“What part of me latching on to you for emotional comfort makes you think I have anything resembling a warm hallmark-card style relationship with my family?” Connor answered back.

“Umm…I’m pretty sure I latch on to you for emotional comfort too. That doesn’t mean I haven’t told my mom I love her.”

Connor stayed quiet.

“Come on, Connor! Not even on Mother’s Day?” Oliver asked, mouth hanging open. Oliver was a thirty year old man but he still spent weeks preparing the perfect handmade card for his own mom for Mother’s Day. With _glitter_. It was a competition he and his older brother had every year. And even though Greg’s ridiculously singing, confetti throwing cards made their mother burst into tears every single time, Oliver knew his mommy liked his cards best. He just _knew._

“I don’t know, Ollie” Connor shrugged “Gemma would choose a present and I would beg her to let me sign my name on the card”

“And you never told Gemma you love her either?”

“She would probably think I was high”

“Well, shit” Oliver said, sagging his shoulders in defeat.

“What?” Connor asked.

“Now that I’ve heard that you’ve never told the people you love that you do in fact, love them, how am I supposed to feel about you telling me you love me? Oh my God, does it mean you hate me? Damn it, you hate me don’t you?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Of course I am, Connor. You just said that you hate me! I don’t know how to deal with that. No one’s ever told me they hated me before. I’m adorable, ask every guy who has ever broken up with me. That’s always their opening line”

“I don’t hate you, you idiot! Also, what kind of assholes have you been dating? Who breaks up with someone like that?”

“Jason Palmer, Eric Callahan, Jessica Denver to name a few”

“Well I don’t know who they are, but I will find them and I will kick their asses for doing that to you. And Jessica Denver, what the hell, Oliver? Four months of friendship and you never once told me you dated a woman” Connor demanded, with his hands on his hips. Connor realized that he was going to make a fantastic mother, if Ollie ever let the twins near him, that is.

“Everyone experiments in college” Oliver mumbled like a five year old chastised by his mother.

Connor nodded approvingly “Well, I am very glad you had some degree of socializing at college”

Oliver nodded in thanks.

“Hey, Connor?”

“Yeah, Ollie”

“I am going to say something right now and I am not sure how to say it. I mean, I am going to use my mouth and probably a lot of words, but I’m not sure how you’ll respond to it” Oliver said, cautiously, turning to face Connor, tucking his leg under his thigh.

“You can tell me anything, Ollie” Connor says, putting a comforting hand on Oliver’s arm.

Oliver take a deep breath. _Now or never, Hampton, he tells himself._

“Connor, you have been the best friend I have had in I don’t remember how long. You make me feel funny and strong and confident. I was beginning to think that I was going to be all alone after Marcus left. But when I am with you I don’t feel lonely anymore. I feel alive and excited. I have a new passion for life that I thought I had lost along the way. The more time I spend with you, the more scared and happy I get. Happy that I found someone that just _gets_ me. Someone with whom I can just _be_. And I am scared that after all this if you walk away, I don’t know what I will do.” Oliver takes a deep breath, trying to hold back tears that are threatening to choke him. He looks over into Connor’s eyes and observes that the other man is not so successful in holding back his own.

“I love what we have, Connor. I love that you can make me smile and laugh. I love this friendship that we have. Am I selfish in wanting that forever?” Oliver asks him meekly.

Connor shook his head, cupping Oliver’s cheek.

“Ollie, if that makes you selfish, then I’m right there with you. You are so special to me, babe. But I got to be honest with you about something”

Oliver nods, waiting for the upcoming rejection.

“Hey” Connor said, raising Oliver’s face so he can look into his eyes “I want this, I really do. But not in the way you think. I want forever too, but not as friends.  I want more, I want us to be more than friends. I have feelings for you. I want you, all of you, all to myself. So tell me, Ollie, am I wrong? Is it just me or do you want me too?”

“Connor?”

“Yeah, Ollie?”

“You do realize, it’s not just going to be me, right? There’s going to be two more people in this relationship, if we choose to pursue it. Do you think you are ready for it?”

Connor sighed. That had been the only thing that had been stopping him from making a move all this time. He wanted to be sure of his feeling before he revealed them to Oliver. As for the baby thing, as the time passed, Connor had actually started to look forward to meeting them. To being a part of their lives. The kids would not be a deterrent to their relationship, because they were a part of that relationship.

“There’s literally nothing else I have been thinking about, these past few weeks. And yes, you are right, most couples date for some time, get married and then have a baby. Well, guess what, we are not like most of them. We’re going through the whole thing backwards. And I am down for all of it, as long as you are there with me”  

Oliver was silent at hearing Connor’s little speech. All this time, Connor had been on the same page with him.

It just took an accidental ‘I Love You’ for them to figure it out.

“I meant what I said when you said what you said” Oliver finally said, looking into Connor’s eyes, wiping the tears with his thumb.

“Does that mean what I think you mean?” Connor asked, his smile wide and watery and _beautiful._

“I love, you Connor Walsh, so, so much” Oliver said, his own tears springing free.

“I love you too, Oliver Hampton, more than you imagine” Connor said.

Oliver wrapped his hands around Connor, and buried his face in his neck. On instinct, Connor raised his hand to brush his fingers through Oliver’s hair.

“I’m such a sap for you, its borderline unhealthy” Oliver mumbled into Connor’s shirt.

“Same here. Our kids will be grossed out by us all the time. We’ll be the embarrassing parents who indulge in PDA before their children” Connor said, kissing him on the side of the head.

The mention of _our kids_ made Oliver melt into a puddle in Connor’s arms.

“Wanna celebrate this moment with mind blowing sex?” Connor asked his boyfriend.

“God, yes. But let’s wash up first. Snot and tears are not the fluid I intend to be covered in with you”

Oliver said, getting out of his embrace and blushing furiously.

“You are a dirty, dirty man, Oliver Hampton” Connor said in awe.

“You love it”

“I do”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really sorry for such a long hiatus. Thanks for all the love! Hope you guys liked this chapter too! Comments make my day, so it would be great if you could take some time out and tell me what you thought about this.
> 
> Thanks :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An argument. An explanation.

“No child of mine will be named “Oswald”, Connor. Regardless of the bet you made with Asher” Oliver said as he shed his coat and hung it back on the hangers.

“But, babe -”

“Oh no you don’t, Connor Walsh. Don’t Ollie me, don’t babe me, don’t baby-doll me. Most certainly don’t sugar-muffin or apple cinnamon me, either”

“I really think you haven’t heard my side of the argument properly, _my love_ ” Connor grinned from his spot on the bed, where he sat cross legged with his law books sprawled before him.

“You’re argument being?” Oliver trailed off skeptically.

“I promised to name my first born with a name of Asher’s choice when I said that there was no way on God’s green earth that Michaela would even look in his direction, let alone go out with him. How on earth was I supposed to know that the two of them had been seeing each other secretly for months? That bastard had planned it all along” Connor grumbled.

He was could have killed Asher and that would have been the end of this nonsense, except Asher had gone ahead and told Michaela as well, who had made sure everyone knew about it. He now had his professors, colleagues, past hookups offering him congratulations on his new family. He would have been pissed but ever since Oliver had found, Connor had been too pre-occupied with preventing a possible break up to focus on his ultimate revenge plot against Asher.

The news had somehow reached Oliver’s surrogate who had called him up and told him that she would sooner send the kids to CPS than handing them over to a fiend who would name them ‘Oswald’ and ‘Walburga’. Oliver had promised Amanda that he would rather throw Connor out than do such a thing to his children.

Connor had had a gut feeling at that point that Oliver was not kidding in the least.

“You are training to be a lawyer, _my love_. It is literally your job to find loopholes in impossible situations. Do you really want to call him ‘Oswald’?” Oliver asked, chucking his tie in the hamper and getting started on his pants, laughing at the way Connor’s eyes went straight to his crotch in anticipation.

“Eyes up here, mister” Oliver chided as Connor moved across the bed to grab Oliver’s belt buckle. Slipping his boyfriend’s trousers off, he pulled the older man to him, kissing him softly as his hands roamed to his shirt, unbuttoning it while licking his way up Oliver’s neck, rendering him speechless.

Connor’s chucked the shirt aside and grabbing him by the hips, pulled Oliver closer to him as their lips found their way to each other. Their kiss deepened into a slowly escalating stream of moans and gasps, until Oliver put his hands on Connor’s shoulders, leaving the other man to move his lips in thin air until he regained his senses.

“Ollie-” Connor whined, trying to pull Oliver back to himself.

“It’s cute that you think you are getting laid with those horrid names still hanging over my head” Connor slumped his shoulders.

“Why would you punish my kids with names like that?” Oliver asked him, his outrage was laced with genuine concern for Connor’s mental faculties. Even his great-grandma had called the names ‘ancient’ when she called him after hearing the news on her twitter. Not that his own boss approved of them either- Oliver had been called into his office in the middle of a particularly intense debugging session to be gifted a baby name book.

It was quite frightening to see how invested everyone was in Oliver’s parenting policies. Which brought him back to his biggest concern, why the hell was Connor going along with this?

“Do you really want to call my daughter-” Oliver continued but was interrupted by Connor who had finally reached the end of his patience.

“God, Ollie. I. Don’t. Want. To. Call. Them. That. Do you really think I want to call my daughter Wally Walsh? No, I don’t. Of course I would never call Charlotte that. She deserves better than that. So does Daniel for that matter” Connor said, stepping away from Oliver and running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Oliver was dumbfounded. Charlotte and Daniel? Had Connor already thought about their names? Genuinely good, classy, non-ridiculous names? So why was he insisting on this stupidity? Oliver was beyond confused. It was still somewhat of a relief to him that his boyfriend was mentally stable, though.

“Okay, now I really need to know what’s going on” Oliver said, as he inched closer to Connor. The other man was in distress, and being mad at someone didn’t mean you wouldn’t comfort them when they needed it. So reclaiming his role as the needy hugger in their relationship, Oliver put an arm around Connor and started kissing along Connor’s ears. A few more minutes and Connor would be putty in Oliver’s arms. While Oliver could never reject Connor’s seduction, Connor was a big sucker for Oliver’s cute romantic gestures.

“Not fair” Connor mumbled into Oliver’s chest. Oliver continued with his pecks, adding soft caresses to his boyfriend’s neck and shoulders.

Connor let out a very girly giggle when Oliver turned his face and kissed the tip of his nose. That’s it, Oliver had won. Connor had no way to defend himself from the affections of this charming, manipulative monster of a man. Not that he tried very hard.

“Asher has some blackmail material on me. That he is going to share with the world if I do not concede to his demands. Trust me, Oliver, that shit would end me. And then I would have to move to Antarctica to escape the shame and humiliation. And you won’t go with me, would you? I’d never get to the kids until like twenty years later and by then, you’ll be married to Steven and Steven will be their dad and where would I fit in this family dynamic of yours?”

“Who’s Steven?” Oliver frowns.

“Steven is a personification of the perfect guy you will meet after I have run off to live with the penguins. He is handsome, domestic, great with the kids, and is also a Senator. Steven is the stuff your dreams and my nightmares are made of” Connor told him seriously.

Connor’s declaration brought upon a heavy silence in the room. Oliver tried to open his mouth multiple times, but nothing came out, so he shut it closed each time.

 Connor was staring at Oliver’s rug _. It was going to be the last rug he was going to see for a very time_ , his brain defended. _No rugs in Antarctica._

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Oliver found the words to express everything wrong with Connor’s concerns.

“I think I can see what the issue is here” he starts gently.

Connor nods, “Clearly, it’s Steven” _Duh,_ his mind adds.

“Steven doesn’t exist” Oliver snaps “What does Asher have on you? And really, how bad could it be?”

Connor just shook his head, trying to fight of the terrible memories that still manages to haunt him. He had to tell Oliver everything. With that knowledge in mind, he got up from the bed and marched towards the living room where his bag was kept abandoned by the door. Retrieving the laptop, he went back to Oliver, who to Connor’s disappointment, was covering his bare chest with a ratty T-shirt.

He set the laptop before his bemused boyfriend and without further ado, pressed ‘Play’.

The video went on for ten thousand centuries in Connor’s panicked mind. On Earth time it translated to 12 minutes and 45 seconds.

The only good thing about that said video was that it ultimately ended.

“So there’s that” Oliver said.

“Yep”

“Is that a French maid costume”?

“Slutty bride, actually”

“That’s a lot of oil to put on a person”

“Glitter doesn’t stick otherwise” _Where could he find the nearest river to drown himself?_ Connor wondered. _Would a canal suffice?_

“Did you have to do this every day?” Oliver asked, worried.

“Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It paid my way through Middleton. Are you mad at me?”

“Crazy proud, yes. Amazed, yes. Mad, not in a million years. Babe, you can rock those high heels better than any woman I know. That being said, this video would _destroy you._ ”

“I’m glad to see us on the same page on this”

“What if we, like, ask him nicely? Make him listen to reason?”

Connor snorted, Asher and reason can and must not be present in the same sentence “I’ve tried everything short of falling at his feet. Nothing has worked. You’ve met the guy, Ollie. He is insane and now he has Michaela in his corner, who is basically the devil incarnate”

“Well, Michaela and I get along great. So how about I try to talk to them? We’ll invite them over for lunch, be on our best behavior and charm them out of this ridiculous bet.”

“We could try” Connor shrugged. It wouldn’t work but at least they would go down fighting “Since we need to be good tomorrow, how about you and I get very, very bad tonight?” Connor added with a smirk, bringing his face close to Oliver’s and biting his lower lip.

“I like the way you think, Mr. Walsh” Oliver whispered in Connor’s ear, falling backwards in bed, pulling his boyfriend with him as he did.

 

* * *

 

 

The Next Day

Oliver in **bold,** Asher in _Italics_.

10:30 AM _: Awww…Ollie, you invited Mic and I for lunch! Though I must tell ya, there is no way in hell I’m calling off this bet. I won, fair and square_.

10:31 AM **: It was an unfair bet to begin with and you know that.**

10:31 AM: _I won, period_.

10:31 AM: **Interesting. Quick question, does your mom know you slept with her best friend Andrea when you were eighteen?**

10:32 AM: _dude wtf_

10:32 AM: **Do you want Michaela to call you Ashie-poo also? Mrs. Jameson seems to quite like the name. Why does she still text you? Do you two have something going on the side?**

10:33 AM: _I see what you’re doing here._

10:34 AM **: I haven’t even started, Ashie-poo.**

10:34 AM: _I’ll call of the bet. You can name your kids whatever you want._

10:35 AM: **I’m so glad we could talk this out as mature adults. We’ll see you guys at one.**

10:36 AM: _You, sir, are the spawn of evil._

10:36 AM: _We’ll bring dessert._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages, I know! I feel terrible for making everyone wait. I would love to know what you guys thought of this chapter. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome. I am basically desperate for comments and validation. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Please Read and Review!


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